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In the Spirit of the Season

Thanks to our legislators who, in the spirit of the season and in a display of statesmanship, came together to pass a proposed constitutional amendment that would mend our highways and add much needed revenues and stability to our schools. All of us will need to come together in May to pass this proposal, but it will boost our economy and help our schools give children the individual attention they need to succeed.

Thank you.

Thanks, too, to our readers. School News Network readership is growing in double-digit percentages each month. Our reporters are turning out remarkable stories, tales retold when people meet, like that of the remarkable Godfrey Lee Junior Jordan Lovett. She boasts a 3.5 grade point average, is a varsity athlete and a performer in high school musicals. Jordan is also without what most of us would call a home..

She has maintained a positive attitude, academic performance and the appearance of a normal life despite moving with her family from apartment to motel to apartment and back again, in and out of the district. Godfrey Lee Superintendent Dave Britten helps her with the expense of athletic equipment and often provides transportation to and from school.

Thank you.

Our new format, with attractive picture-filled pages for each district will make it easier for readers to find stories for their own school district before navigating back to the main page for features by award-winning journalists Charles Honey, Tom Rademacher and the issue stories we’re developing on topics affecting students, schools and school districts.

Our technical consultants, our Kent ISD staff and those who recently joined us to help market SNN are enthused about our mission, our content, and the opportunities we provide leading institutions to engage with the educational community.

Most of all, thank you to the remarkable educators who help students from Indonesia (terima kasih), China (xie xie), Africa (asante), Italy (grazie), France (merci) and dozens of other countries, as well as all of the students with special needs, and challenges such as those faced by Jordan, succeed in school and in life.

Thank you for reading, for supporting public education, and for making our world a better place by helping young people reach their full potential.

Among the more overused and mis-attributed quotes in all of journalism is the old saw that proclaims the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, that describes our national obsession over standardized test scores...